Bracket for supporting lamps and other articles.



GEORGE WILLIAM I-IOUK, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

BRACKET FOR SUPPORTING LAMPS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led July 15, 1907.

Patented Mar. 1911.

Serial No. 383,930.

To all whom it 'may cof/wcm:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WILLIAM HOUK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at No. 7 Snow Hill, in the city of London, in England, merchant, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brackets for Supporting Lamps and other Articles, of which the following is a specification. f

This invention relates to adjustable brackets for supporting lamps and other articles and is particularly applicable to lamp brackets for supporting the large sideor head-lights used on motor cars and similar vehicles.

It has been the usual practice to employ a forked bracket bolted to the frame of the chassis of the car, of which the stems of the prongs were either parallel or co-axial and were either fixed or pivotally arranged and adapted to be clamped in position at the required distance apart, but the bolting of such a device to the frame necessarily weakens the latter and the lamps have generally been provided with two vertical sockets adapted to slide on and to be supported by the prongs of the fork.

Now according to this invention the two prongs of the fork are made separate or independent of each other so that the said prongs may be set and clamped at any desired distance from each other and in order to attach the prongs to a part of the vehicle such as the frame of the chassis, for eX- ample two plates are provided, having holes therein, through which holes the lower parts or stems of the prongs pass. The stems of the prongs are fashioned with shoulders or collars so as to form an abutment and thus prevent the prongs passing unduly far through the plates and the tightening up or clamping is effected by providing the lower end of the stems of the prongs with a screw thread to take nuts, or other means of clamping the prongs on to the chassis or other suitable part of the vehicle may be employed. The aXes of the stems of the prongs may be parallel to each other and arranged on each side of the chassis or other part to which the prongs are to be clamped or the stem of one prong may be tubular and the stem of the other prong solid and arranged within the hollow stem of the former prong so that their aXes coincide and any suitable clamping device for attachment to the vehicle may be employed so as to obviate making holes in the frame of the chassis.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is an elevation of a lamp bracket constructed according to this invention and Fig. 2 is a plan thereof. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a modified form of bracket and Fig. L is a plan of same.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the two prongs a and are made separate or independent of each other, but are connected together by two plates c and CZ having holes therein, through which freely pass the lower parts or stems of the said prongs. The stems of the prongs are provided with shoulders or collars e and f which take against the top of the upper plate c and the lower ends of the stems are threaded and provided with nuts g and 7L which may be slotted to receive linch pins adapted to pass through holes in the threaded parts in the well known manner or lock nuts or locking washers may be employed. The channel iron c' of the frame or chassis is gripped between the plates c and 0l which are preferably recessed as shown so as to render them suitable for channel iron or the like of various dimensions and sections. A block of wood such as y' issuitably, but not necessarily, tted within the channel iron i to prevent the deformation of the said channel iron when the nuts g and h are screwed up.

The upper parts of the prongs are, as is usual, threaded and provided with nuts or internally threaded caps 7c which prevent the lamps from jumping off, being screwed down on to the tops of the sockets Z of the lamp, the said sockets being shown in section. Or as shown in Figs. 3 and 4: the stems of the prongs m and a are co-aXial, that is to say, the stem 0 of the prong m is tubular and the stem p of the other prong solid, of a slightly less diameter than the internal diameter of the stem 0 and arbe Varied to suit practically any make of lamp and the direction in which the lamp may point and consequently the direction in which the light is projected may also be 'varied if required andthe only thing to be Y done is to` screw up the nuts g and 7L when the prongs are the proper distance apart and at the requisite angles to each other and to the vertical longitudinal plane of' the vehicle all according to the direction it is required that the light should be projected.

By employing` clamping plates and particularly those of the kind described and shown the lamp brackets may be Xed to practically any car without fitting, cutting or drilling the'frame orrchassis and without skilled assistance, besides which the brackets may be easily altered to take different lamps or changed from one car to another with little trouble and in a short time.

What ,Ii claim as my invention, and desire yif to secure byLetters Patent is l. An adjustable lamp bracket comprismg a pair of prongs, each having a stem,

` clamping plates through which said stems Vpass, and means for clamping the stems to Vwhere it joins the prong, two clamping plates having holes through which the stems pass, and nuts on the threaded ends of the stems for clamping they latter so that the prongs are simultaneously iXed at the required distance apart and in position on the part to which the bracket is iiXed.

3. An adjustable lamp. bracket comprising a pair of prongs, each having a stem, said stems arranged with their axes parallel to each other, clamping plates, and means for clamping the stems on the plates so that the prongs are simultaneously fixed at the required distance apart and the plates fixed in position on the part to which the bracket is to be liXed.

4. In combination with a support, a pair of prongs, each having a stem threaded at one end and provided with a shoulder where it joins the prong, said stems arranged with their axes parallel to each other, two clamping plates having holes through which said stems pass and recesses on their' opposing sides between said stems and nuts for the threaded ends of the stems for clamping the stems so that said prongs are simultaneously fixed at the required distance apart and Vin position on the support.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nameY to thispspecication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Y GEORGE WILLIAM HoUK.

lVitnesses:

F. 'Lf RAND, i H. D. JAMESON.

f i Copies Yof this patent may be obtained for five-cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. VVlashngton, -D..C. v 

